Crimes Act 1914

Part III - Offences relating to the administration of justice  

Division 3 - Evidence and witnesses  

SECTION 39   DESTROYING EVIDENCE  

39(1)    
A person commits an offence if:

(a) the person knows that a book, document or thing of any kind is, or may be, required in evidence in a judicial proceeding; and

(b) the person:

(i) destroys the book, document or thing; or

(ii) renders the book, document or thing illegible, undecipherable or incapable of identification; and

(c) the person does so with the intention of preventing the book, document or thing from being used in evidence; and

(d) the judicial proceeding is a federal judicial proceeding.

Penalty: Imprisonment for 5 years.

39(2)    
Absolute liability applies to the paragraph (1)(d) element of the offence.

Note:

For absolute liability, see section 6.2 of the Criminal Code .